Incendiary bomb



Juflv 6, 1943., H. A. SIMPSON INCENDIARY BOMB Filed Feb. 3, 1942 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The invention covered herein may be manu factured by or for the Government of the United States of America, for governmental purposes, without payment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in incendiary bombs. The object being to eliminate the detonating feature of bombs now in common use, while securing a prompter, safer and more eifective action.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates merely by way of example suitable means for effecting my invention:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the respective views.

The usual cylindrical shell 5 is preferably of sheet metal, and provided with a centrally disposed tube 6 extending through the shell, from end to end, thus providing the annular space 1 between the tube and the outer shell. This annular space is closed at the top and bottom. The tube 6 is normally closed at the top by any suitable closure as for example, the disc 8, which may be secured by an adhesive to the top of the shell 5. The other end of the tube is open. This tube is made of combustible material, in part or in whole, with its inner surface, through a part at least of its length, provided with a coating 9 of inflammable material such as is used on the end of a match, and which is adapted to become ignited upon frictional engagement with a striking surface prepared or suitably coated as is well known in the art.

A block or plunger III, having a movable fit within the tube, is normally positioned at the closed end of the tube and is disengageably secured to the disc 8 as, for example by a suitable adhesive. The block or plunger i0 is also connected to a wire or cord II which extends through the tube and out the open end thereof.

The free end of the cord II is connected or held in any desired way for instance, as shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 429,367 filed February 3, 1942, so that, when the bomb is swung upon the cord with sufficient force, the block II] is separated from the disc 8 and pulled through the tube thus releasing the bomb. At the same time the friction, caused by the movement of block l0 through tube similar parts 6, between the prepared surface of the block and the prepared surface of the surrounding wall of the tube, acts in the same way as the striking of the match head upon the prepared striking surface of the box, thus igniting the tube and the consequent ignition of the contents of the annular chamber, which is usually magnesium, or similar material, so that the bomb becomes a flaming hot mass, practically unextinguishable, almost immediately upon its release from the cord and before reaching its target.

Such a device is much safer to handle than the bombs now in common use.

What I claim is:

1. In an incendiary bomb, an elongated shell, an inflammable tube extending therethrough, inflammable material in the space between said shell and said tube, a block in said tube adjacent one end having a sliding friction fit therewith, means temporarily retaining said block in said end of said tube, cord means attached to said block and extending through said tube and out the other end thereof, and a coating of inflammable material on the interior of said tube ignited by the friction of said block in its travel substantially from end to end thereof to ignite the inflammable material in said bomb.

2. In an incendiary bomb, an elongated shell, an iniflarmmable tube extending therethrough from end to end, inflammable material filling the space between said shell and said tube, a block in said tube having a sliding friction fit therewith and with a coating of ignition material thereon, a disc larger than the diameter of said tube secured to said block and disposed outside the end of said tube for temporarily retaining said block in one end of said tube, said block being otherwise free to pass through said tube from end to end, a cord attached to said block and extending through said tube from end to end and out the other end thereof, and a coating of inflammable material on the interior of said tube ignited by contact with the ignition material on said block in its travel substantially from end to end thereof for igniting said incendiary bomb under tension of said cord causing separation between said block and said disc followed by relative movement between said cord and said shell and attached parts.

HENRY A. SIMPSON. 

